The Short List: This American Life

Saying This American Life is great is nothing new. It's probably the most listened to podcast in the world, to an audience of about 1.8 million listeners. It's a weekly radio/podcast show with stories on a theme, ranging from the everyday to the extraordinary. It's surprising, informative, devastating, relatable, and easily one of the best hours of my week. It's produced by Chicago Public Radio, distributed by NPR, and hosted by a total babely babe, Ira Glass.

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Spending a lunch hour plugged into my computer, streaming an archived episode off the website, and knitting away is one of my favourite ways to spend my break at work (you can stream off the iPhone app too). So I thought I'd share some of my favourite TAL episodes, a sort of primer if you're uninitiated, and a recommend list for those of you that are. So here they are, the very top seven of This American Life episodes, as decided by me, a random listener who has yet to listen to every episode.

1. 388: Rest Stop
I don't know what it is about this episode, but I just love it. They put nine producers at a rest stop for two days, and let them interview everyone they came across. You get the general manager with a competitive streak, you get parties with the international students working retail, you get romance and families and restaurant lunches. It's just a slice of American life, and holds true to the TAL belief that an average place can hold a surprising wealth of stories.

2. 423: The Invention of Money
This episode is just fascinating. In exploring the nature of money, TAL discovers it's just a fiction. Yep—and it's a fiction everyone needs to believe in for it to actually work. Along the way, they explain how ancient civilizations used currency, how governments create money, and how they can create a stabilized economy with little more than a rebranding campaign. A must listen, for sure.

3. 77: Pray
I'm a sucker for anything claiming to explore the divide between the secular and the religious, as it's something I've had to grapple with a lot in my life. And rather than digging deep into how these two groups can work together, this episode ends up focusing on producer Alix Spiegel's time in Colorado Springs. While she originally went to find out more about the 24-hour-a-day, 365-days-a-year "prayer shield" one parish keeps up, she ended up finding out the surprising true nature of their prayers, and maybe even drinking the Kool-Aid herself. It's an unsettling account, and while it's not one that had me converted, I definitely found myself dreaming about it a few days later.

4. 109: Notes on Camp
This one made me feel like a kid all over again. There's a real reverence and delight in the drama, the excitement, and the rituals of the experience. If you've ever been to sleepaway camp, you will LOVE this one.

5. 84: Harold
This tells the story of Chicago's first black mayor, Harold Washington, who held office from 1983 until his death in 1987. He was one hell of a guy and quite the speaker, addressing his audiences and his opponents as a real human being. He wasn't afraid to call a spade a spade, and seems such a refreshing breath of fresh air in political speeches, normally such a stuffy affair. He was apparently a big source of inspiration for Obama during his campaign – I can only hope more politicians choose to take his lead.

6. 418: Toxie
In this one, reporters from sister blog/podcast Planet Money pool their resources and buy a toxic asset (which they nickname Toxie), then root around inside. I dig this one so much, and I don't really know why. Maybe because it's the first time I've really understood why the recession happened. Maybe it's because nonsense terms like "toxic assets" and "mortgage fraud" finally have a bit of light shone on them. Maybe it's because this huge tumble finally has some humanity at its core. Whatever the reason, I found this to be a really delightful little episode, about some not so delightful things.

7. 374: Somewhere Out There
Let's end on a high note—this one's all about finding your soul mate out of 6 (now 7!) billon, and just a couple people who've fought the odds. One guy sings Chinese opera to anyone who'll listen, two little girls share a unique experience, and one guy who overlooks some red flags because he's found "the one". This one's a lot of fun.


Do you listen to TAL? Let me know what your favourite episodes are in the comments! I love having a short list of episodes to listen to.



PS. If you'd like to take them on the go with you, and won't be able to stream the archives (say, on a flight! Or without a smartphone!), you can also download the archived episodes by using this address:

http://audio.thisamericanlife.org/jomamashouse/ismymamashouse/SHOWNUMBER.mp3

And replacing SHOWNUMBER with the show's number. Aw shucks, that directory name just makes me love them even more. (Trick found via Misener.)